This invention relates to an air intake manifold assembly for a v-shaped engine having two banks forming a V pattern.
For such an engine, manufacturers employ air intake manifold assemblies that comprise an upper manifold portion and two lower manifold portions. A single fuel rail or conduit is frequently used to communicate fuel from a fuel tank to the combustion chambers of both banks of the engine through fuel injectors of the fuel rail. The fuel injectors that extend from the fuel rail also take a v-shaped form to meet each cylinder. Due to the proximity of the ducts of the air intake manifolds to the ports for the fuel injectors, manufacturers mold the ports and ducts together as part of the lower portion of the manifold assembly.
The manifold assembly generally consists of a pair of lower manifold portions, a fuel rail assembly, and a single upper manifold portion. The fuel rail is installed into the lower manifold portions from above. Then, the upper intake manifold is installed on top. A set of seals and additional components hold the manifold portions together. Moreover, the interface between the lower intake manifold and the engine requires another set of seals and components to assemble the lower intake manifolds to the engine.
The present design of manifold assembly has several drawbacks. The splitting of the manifold assembly into upper and lower manifold portions requires additional componentry as well as labor and time to assemble. Each portion also requires separate tooling and capital expenditures to manufacture. Finally, handling and inventory costs are increased as a consequence of the multiple components required by the current design.
A need therefore exists for a simplified manifold design that permits easy installation and service of the fuel rail and manifold assembly for a v-bank engine.
The present invention moves the location of the fuel injector ports from the air intake manifold to a separate support. In so doing, the lower portions of the air intake manifold assembly may be combined with the upper portion to form a single unit, thereby reducing the number of manifold components. As a consequence, no additional tooling is required to form the lower portions of the air intake manifold. Only a single tool to form the single unit manifold is needed. Labor and parts costs are also reduced.
The invention comprises a manifold assembly. The air intake manifold has ducts that communicate air to the engine. A single fuel rail has fuel injectors for supplying the engine with fuel. The inventive design employs a separate support having ports to receive the fuel injectors and having seals to assist in the communication of air from the air intake manifold to the engine.
The support member has duct passages in communication with the ducts of the manifold and has fuel injector port passages in communication with the fuel injectors of the fuel rail. In contrast to the prior art, the fuel injector port passages may have a predetermined length greater than the length of the duct passages. The support member may comprise a planar member. For a v-shaped engine, two support members may be used to interface the ducts and injectors of the manifold and fuel rail with each bank of the engine.
The fuel conduit may be mounted to the air intake manifold. Seals may be used between the duct passages and the ducts. These seals may be mounted to the support member. In addition, seals may be used between the duct passage and the engine. These seals may be mounted to the support member.
The air intake manifold assembly may have a planar member acting as a support comprising duct mounts in communication with the ducts of the manifold and fuel injector port mounts in communication the fuel injectors of the fuel rail. The fuel injector port mounts may have a predetermined thickness greater than the thickness of the duct mounts. Seals may be used between the duct mount and the duct and may be mounted to the planar member. Seals may also be employed between the duct mounts and the engine and mounted to the planar member.
Hence, the fuel injector ports are located separately from the air intake manifold. The support member is then mounted to the engine with each fuel injector positioned into each fuel injector port. This design then allows the air intake manifold to be mounted as a single unit on the engine.